


Thank you for Letting Me Love you

by xhiro



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Multimedia, Pictures, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 10:56:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3378983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xhiro/pseuds/xhiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things The Straw Hat Pirates notice about their captain after two years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thank you for Letting Me Love you

It's been known that on sunny days, when the breeze is cool and inviting, their captain will sit in his special seat on the Thousand Sunny.

Nami watches him there sometimes.

He sits there with his legs crossed in front of him, or sometimes lies atop the lion's head on his belly with his legs spread out like a sloth. He eats there, sometimes laughs to himself over nothing, or points out deeply amusing inconsequential things to his crewmates-sometimes he fishes when he has the patience.

But every now and then, a quiet moment passes over him, Nami notices. A calm look crosses his face, his features smoothing over into vacancy and his eyes bore into the straw hat he holds out in front of him. Lightly, he treads his fingers under the red band, as if looking for something.

In those moments, Nami doesn't approach him. Those quiet moments that belong to Luffy alone.

But whenever he's ready to return, ready to turn around, there's always a Mikan waiting for him.

 

 

☼

 

His hooves pause mid-touch the first time he examines the scar.

It isn't a medical examination for that, Chopper is treating something else, but the old injury stares back at him like it's his mistake he made. And yes, he can heal any injury, try to treat the symptoms, but the scars will always remain.

When he gingerly approaches the pale skin with a toe, it feels like the pain is alive. A living thing that never really goes away. (Men only ever die really when they are forgotten after all.)

So he does the only thing he can do, and sticks two chopsticks into his nose.

Luffy bursts out laughing, a raucous chorus of giggles, "What are you doing, Chopper? You look like an idiot!"

And Chopper laughs too, because he's quite happy with that.

 

☼

 

A blinding burning light sears his vision when he sees the new technique Luffy came up with.

Rayleigh must've had a hand in its birth, Sanji thinks, since Luffy couldn't have come up with it all on his own.

And the only thing he can think, as his captain's opponent flies into the opposing wall from his punch, is that it's one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen. His own cigarette ashes join the flames dancing in the air.

 

☼

 

"Do you think I've gotten stronger?" Luffy asks one night over a cup of a sake.

His first mate swirls his cup in front of him, and frowns into it a little. This was some watered down shit.

It's a deep question coming from the captain and Zoro thinks for a brief moment that hearts are difficult things.

But he's spent a long time smelting down his heart into something sharp and steel and Zoro's heart has always been three-pronged.

He grunts something affirmative in response and Luffy grins back.

 

☼

 

The third night that the captain wakes up in a cold sweat, Usopp lies awake with his thoughts.

He's always felt inadequate to the others, even in his own shallow pool of experiences. Perhaps there was a difference. An unspeakable pain that kept Luffy up at nights, that kept him from talking to the others about it, that made all his silences suddenly more poignant (because heaven knows those were rare).

But when he thinks of the pain of losing a brother, of watching a red curtain of flames engulf your family (the white flakes drifting around as your vision blurs) he calls out to Luffy as he tries to slip out of the room.

"It'll stop one day. One day it won't be so bad."

Usopp does what he does best.

Luffy's grip on the door frame tightens so hard it burns.

 

☼

 

There's a quiet moment of calm. Luffy is unnaturally calm. The line of his shoulders cut a jagged figure against the background. But the steam radiating off his skin promises nothing of the sort.

He doesn't speak a word as he emerges from the rubble around him. He's bleeding from his forehead and one of his legs looks bent the wrong way, but there isn't a single part of him at that moment that looks weak.

There's a dangerous look in his eyes, something wild the way they dart around and the moment he takes a step forward, Franky puts out an arm to stop him. Luffy turns slowly to look at him. The cyborg cackles madly in reply.

"I won't let any of the people important to me disappear again either, captain."

Luffy's brows knit together. His expression darkens for a moment, but then his eyes roll back.

With a quiet thud, he lands softly against Franky's arm. Another chuckle.

"Leave it to me, boss."

 

☼

 

 

☼

 

The gentle rise and fall of violin notes float along the breeze. They cruise around the ship with an air of ease and practice.

The bowstring caresses the tightly bound wires and another string of notes float out lazily.

A straw hat bobs up and down rhythmically as its owner relaxes against a tree. The sun's rays have heated up the surface of the ship and the wood feels warm to the touch. A calm breeze weaves through the deck. It tastes just a little bit salty.

He comments lightly that it's a nice day to the violinist.

The violinist replies that it is indeed and continues playing.

 

☼

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
